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3D printing of hydrogels in a temperature controlled environment with high spatial resolution

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Current Directions in Biomedical Engineering
From the journal Current Directions in Biomedical Engineering Volume 2 Issue 1

Abstract

There is great hope in 3D printing techniques to create patient specific scaffolds for therapeutic applications. The majority of these approaches rely on materials that both give support to cells and effectively mimic a tissue specific microenvironment. Hydrogels provide an exceptional support for cells but their physicochemical properties are not suited for conventional additive layer manufacturing. Their low viscosity and resulting fluidic nature inhibit voluminous 3D deposition and lead to crude printing accuracy. To enhance mechanical features, hydrogels are often chemically modified and/or mixed with additives; however it is not clear whether these changes induce effects on cellular behavior or if in vivo applications are at risk. Certainly it increases the complexity of scaffold systems. To circumvent these obstacles, we aimed for a 3D printing technique which is capable of creating scaffolds out of unmodified, pure hydrogels. Here we present a new method to produce alginate scaffolds in a viscosity- independent manner with high spatial resolution. This is achieved by printing in a sub-zero environment which leads to fast freezing of the hydrogels, thus preserving the printed shape and circumventing any viscosity dependent flows. This enables the user to create scaffolds which are able to reflect soft or stiff cell niches.

Keywords: additive layer manufacturing; alginate; 3D printing; scaffolds; sub-zero printing

1 Introduction

Hydrogels are the primary choice for many 3D bioprinting approaches. While they have many advantages on the biological side, especially their biocompatibility, tuneable stiffness and a wide range of possible modifications [1], [2], they are not well suited for additive layer manufacturing, due to their low viscosity and fluidic nature [3], [4]. An increase of the hydrogel concentration to counteract the low viscosity is problematic, because it would lead to stiffer hydrogels after gelling [5]. Therefore a very soft environment cannot be produced by additive layer manufacturing of pure hydrogels. Several studies showed that there are applications where such soft environment is needed, e.g. the directed differentiation of cells [6], [7]. Additionally with an ongoing increase of complexity in artificial grafts and a high demand for regenerative medicine, simple printing techniques are suited to strike market first. To retain flexibility and at the same time be as simple as possible, we developed a new method for production of alginate scaffolds with high spatial resolution based on a temperature controlled environment. Thus we are able to 3D print unmodified biopolymers without any additives in a viscosity range below 3 Pa*s, which is below the viscosity of maple syrup [8].

2 3D printing of hydrogels in a temperature controlled environment

We employed the 3D Bioscaffolder (GeSiM) for 3D printing of hydrogels. It offers two cartridges for sequential printing of two different materials. Pressures can be adjusted in 1 kPa steps. All scaffolds were produced using a 0.2 mm syringe opening at the end of cartridges and applying 30 kPa, 40 kPa or 50 kPa pressure. To control temperature we designed a metal container for dry ice, on which the scaffolds were printed. After surface reached a temperature between −15°C and −20°C (referred to as sub-zero temperatures in this study) scaffold production is started. We use ultra-high viscosity (UHV) alginate, a blend of biopolymers harvested from two brown algae species (Lessonia nigrescens and Lessonia trabeculata). These biopolymers exhibit high biocompatibility and are solidified through ionotropic gelling [1]. Along with alginate concentration, the type and concentration of ions are responsible for the stiffness in the final hydrogel construct, therefore offering a high flexibility in terms of mechanical features [5]. For this study we used 0.7% alginate solution (ALG1) with a viscosity of 2.8895 ± 0.0374 Pa*s (20°C). Alginate solutions in the 3D printer cartridges are kept at room temperature (20°C) and freeze rapidly only after being printed on the cooled stage. Imaging has been performed with FitC labeled Poly-l-lysine (Sigma Aldrich) stained scaffolds on a SP8 confocal laser scanning microscope (Leica).

3 Comparison between printing in sub-zero and room temperatures

For direct comparison of additive layer manufacturing either at sub-zero or room temperatures, we decided to print grids, because they show complex characteristics of the printing process. Particularly, they incorporate alternating patterns of overlaying and uncovered struts and additionally precision of strut deposition can be easily observed.

Printing of ALG1 utilizing conventional printing led to melting of struts orthogonal to the printing axis. This flow depends on the wettability of the surface and the volume of alginate deposited. These two factors combined with surface tension and viscosity of the alginate determine the final geometry. In our setup the resulting thickness is lower than 100 μm (Figure 1B).

Figure 1: Alginate strut printed with conventional 3D printing. (A) Shows a 1.5 mm × 1.5 mm part of an alginate scaffold. In contrast to our printing process the strut has a width of app. 1 mm. In depth coding clearly shows the evenness of the printed construct (scale in μm). White scale bar represents 500 μm. (B) Gives a side view of the strut, with a thickness below 150 μm.
Figure 1:

Alginate strut printed with conventional 3D printing. (A) Shows a 1.5 mm × 1.5 mm part of an alginate scaffold. In contrast to our printing process the strut has a width of app. 1 mm. In depth coding clearly shows the evenness of the printed construct (scale in μm). White scale bar represents 500 μm. (B) Gives a side view of the strut, with a thickness below 150 μm.

Furthermore, strut width is around 1 mm despite printing with a 0.2 mm syringe opening (Figure 1A and 2). Macropores, being the openings between printed struts, are also minimized owing to the outflow, especially from the crossing points, leading to a diminished accuracy. We have also observed a complete sealing of some macropores in each scaffold when printing at 50 kPa under room temperatures. Additionally, there seems to be almost no difference in height between overlaying areas and single printed struts, further underlying the effects of surface tension and wettability.

Figure 2: Comparison of strut width between alginate printed under sub-zero and temperate conditions. Struts have been documented under light microscopy, measurement of width has been realized with NiS Elements 4.0 software (Nikon). n = 30 for all samples, except for 50 kPa under room temperature n = 25.
Figure 2:

Comparison of strut width between alginate printed under sub-zero and temperate conditions. Struts have been documented under light microscopy, measurement of width has been realized with NiS Elements 4.0 software (Nikon). n = 30 for all samples, except for 50 kPa under room temperature n = 25.

In contrast, printing under sub-zero conditions is beneficial for a higher control over the printing process, higher printing pressures led to much lower differences in strut width, compared to non-freezing. Indicating that the difference is caused by higher material deposition in z-axis and thus creating a higher volume (Figure 2). Likewise, no increase in strut diameter variability is visible when applying higher pressures (Figure 2, 50 kPa).

Therefore, ALG1 printed in a sub-zero environment does not only result in a lower strut diameter in xy axis, it also enables the alginate to be printed with high strut diameter in z-axis (Figure 3A) The outflow is minimized, leading to a higher printing precision.

Figure 3: 3D printed alginate at sub-zero temperatures. (A) Shows a 1.5 mm × 1.5 mm part of an alginate scaffold. Strut width is ∼500 μm. White scale bar represents 500 μm. In depth coding clearly shows the 3D nature of the construct (scale in μm). (B) Gives a side view of a scaffold, reaching a height of ∼300 μm with two printed layers.
Figure 3:

3D printed alginate at sub-zero temperatures. (A) Shows a 1.5 mm × 1.5 mm part of an alginate scaffold. Strut width is ∼500 μm. White scale bar represents 500 μm. In depth coding clearly shows the 3D nature of the construct (scale in μm). (B) Gives a side view of a scaffold, reaching a height of ∼300 μm with two printed layers.

4 Freezing effects on alginate

Freezing and vitrification have been shown to effect alginate morphology [9], [10]. Although we do not reach such deep temperatures as with liquid nitrogen, we still have observed structural changes of printed hydrogels. The surface is covered with microscale structures (Figure 4), compared to alginate printed at room temperature, which has an even surface (Figure 1). Pores have been observed, reaching as deep as 70 μm into the scaffold (Figure 2C). We speculated that these pores are the result of ice crystallization that penetrates the water rich hydrogels, as shown in other studies [11]. Microscale structures are known for their effect on cell attachment and behavior and could further enhance biomimicry of a cell niche [12], [13]. Additionally, they represent statistically random distributed structural patterns just as extra cellular matrices in physiological tissues do [14].

Figure 4: Detailed view of an alginate surface printed in a subzero environment (A, B and C). (A) Gives an overview over an alginate strut. Pores cover the whole surface. (B) Gives a detailed view of the porous surface marked with the white box in (A). (C) Shows a section following the white dashed line in (A). Here pores reaching deep into the struts are clearly visible (see white arrow). White scale bar represents 100 μm.
Figure 4:

Detailed view of an alginate surface printed in a subzero environment (A, B and C). (A) Gives an overview over an alginate strut. Pores cover the whole surface. (B) Gives a detailed view of the porous surface marked with the white box in (A). (C) Shows a section following the white dashed line in (A). Here pores reaching deep into the struts are clearly visible (see white arrow). White scale bar represents 100 μm.

5 Outlook

Printing in sub-zero environments enables the user to create hydrogel scaffolds with high spatial resolution. The possibility to print very low viscosity polymers facilitates the creation of very soft microenvironments. This is achieved without any modification of the used biopolymers. In conclusion, we designed a 3D printing method which has the capability to print soft and stiff parts in one scaffold. While 3D printing of soft and hard materials has been realized before, to our knowledge, none has achieved this with such liquid materials and high spatial resolution using only non-modified hydrogels.

Author’s Statement

Research funding: The author state no funding involved. Conflict of interest: Authors state no conflict of interest. Material and Methods: Informed consent: Informed consent has been obtained from all individuals included in this study. Ethical approval: The conducted research is not related to either human or animal use.

References

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Published Online: 2016-9-30
Published in Print: 2016-9-1

©2016 Heiko Zimmermann et al., licensee De Gruyter.

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

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https://doi.org/10.1515/cdbme-2016-0027
Keywords for this article
additive layer manufacturing; alginate; 3D printing; scaffolds; sub-zero printing
Creative Commons
BY-NC-ND 4.0

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  81. Resectoscope with an easy to use twist mechanism for improved handling
  82. In vitro simulation of distribution processes following intramuscular injection
  83. Adjusting inkjet printhead parameters to deposit drugs into micro-sized reservoirs
  84. A flexible standalone system with integrated sensor feedback for multi-pad electrode FES of the hand
  85. Smart control for functional electrical stimulation with optimal pulse intensity
  86. Tactile display on the remaining hand for unilateral hand amputees
  87. Effects of sustained electrical stimulation on spasticity assessed by the pendulum test
  88. An improved tracking framework for ultrasound probe localization in image-guided radiosurgery
  89. Improvement of a subviral particle tracker by the use of a LAP-Kalman-algorithm
  90. Learning discriminative classification models for grading anal intraepithelial neoplasia
  91. Regularization of EIT reconstruction based on multi-scales wavelet transforms
  92. Assessing MRI susceptibility artefact through an indicator of image distortion
  93. EyeGuidance – a computer controlled system to guide eye movements
  94. A framework for feedback-based segmentation of 3D image stacks
  95. Doppler optical coherence tomography as a promising tool for detecting fluid in the human middle ear
  96. 3D Local in vivo Environment (LivE) imaging for single cell protein analysis of bone tissue
  97. Inside-Out access strategy using new trans-vascular catheter approach
  98. US/MRI fusion with new optical tracking and marker approach for interventional procedures inside the MRI suite
  99. Impact of different registration methods in MEG source analysis
  100. 3D segmentation of thyroid ultrasound images using active contours
  101. Designing a compact MRI motion phantom
  102. Cerebral cortex classification by conditional random fields applied to intraoperative thermal imaging
  103. Classification of indirect immunofluorescence images using thresholded local binary count features
  104. Analysis of muscle fatigue conditions using time-frequency images and GLCM features
  105. Numerical evaluation of image parameters of ETR-1
  106. Fabrication of a compliant phantom of the human aortic arch for use in Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) experimentation
  107. Effect of the number of electrodes on the reconstructed lung shape in electrical impedance tomography
  108. Hardware dependencies of GPU-accelerated beamformer performances for microwave breast cancer detection
  109. Computer assisted assessment of progressing osteoradionecrosis of the jaw for clinical diagnosis and treatment
  110. Evaluation of reconstruction parameters of electrical impedance tomography on aorta detection during saline bolus injection
  111. Evaluation of open-source software for the lung segmentation
  112. Automatic determination of lung features of CF patients in CT scans
  113. Image analysis of self-organized multicellular patterns
  114. Effect of key parameters on synthesis of superparamagnetic nanoparticles (SPIONs)
  115. Radiopacity assessment of neurovascular implants
  116. Development of a desiccant based dielectric for monitoring humidity conditions in miniaturized hermetic implantable packages
  117. Development of an artifact-free aneurysm clip
  118. Enhancing the regeneration of bone defects by alkalizing the peri-implant zone – an in vitro approach
  119. Rapid prototyping of replica knee implants for in vitro testing
  120. Protecting ultra- and hyperhydrophilic implant surfaces in dry state from loss of wettability
  121. Advanced wettability analysis of implant surfaces
  122. Patient-specific hip prostheses designed by surgeons
  123. Plasma treatment on novel carbon fiber reinforced PEEK cages to enhance bioactivity
  124. Wear of a total intervertebral disc prosthesis
  125. Digital health and digital biomarkers – enabling value chains on health data
  126. Usability in the lifecycle of medical software development
  127. Influence of different test gases in a non-destructive 100% quality control system for medical devices
  128. Device development guided by user satisfaction survey on auricular vagus nerve stimulation
  129. Empirical assessment of the time course of innovation in biomedical engineering: first results of a comparative approach
  130. Effect of left atrial hypertrophy on P-wave morphology in a computational model
  131. Simulation of intracardiac electrograms around acute ablation lesions
  132. Parametrization of activation based cardiac electrophysiology models using bidomain model simulations
  133. Assessment of nasal resistance using computational fluid dynamics
  134. Resistance in a non-linear autoregressive model of pulmonary mechanics
  135. Inspiratory and expiratory elastance in a non-linear autoregressive model of pulmonary mechanics
  136. Determination of regional lung function in cystic fibrosis using electrical impedance tomography
  137. Development of parietal bone surrogates for parietal graft lift training
  138. Numerical simulation of mechanically stimulated bone remodelling
  139. Conversion of engineering stresses to Cauchy stresses in tensile and compression tests of thermoplastic polymers
  140. Numerical examinations of simplified spondylodesis models concerning energy absorption in magnetic resonance imaging
  141. Principle study on the signal connection at transabdominal fetal pulse oximetry
  142. Influence of Siluron® insertion on model drug distribution in the simulated vitreous body
  143. Evaluating different approaches to identify a three parameter gas exchange model
  144. Effects of fibrosis on the extracellular potential based on 3D reconstructions from histological sections of heart tissue
  145. From imaging to hemodynamics – how reconstruction kernels influence the blood flow predictions in intracranial aneurysms
  146. Flow optimised design of a novel point-of-care diagnostic device for the detection of disease specific biomarkers
  147. Improved FPGA controlled artificial vascular system for plethysmographic measurements
  148. Minimally spaced electrode positions for multi-functional chest sensors: ECG and respiratory signal estimation
  149. Automated detection of alveolar arches for nasoalveolar molding in cleft lip and palate treatment
  150. Control scheme selection in human-machine- interfaces by analysis of activity signals
  151. Event-based sampling for reducing communication load in realtime human motion analysis by wireless inertial sensor networks
  152. Automatic pairing of inertial sensors to lower limb segments – a plug-and-play approach
  153. Contactless respiratory monitoring system for magnetic resonance imaging applications using a laser range sensor
  154. Interactive monitoring system for visual respiratory biofeedback
  155. Development of a low-cost senor based aid for visually impaired people
  156. Patient assistive system for the shoulder joint
  157. A passive beating heart setup for interventional cardiology training
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